Starting tomorrow, artworks crafted during the annual Baker’s Bay Artists’ Retreat will be on display at Berronies in Oranjemund.
The exhibition will run until 29 September and will be followed by a sequel to be showcased in Windhoek.
Twelve artists convened at Baker’s Bay in the Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park for the third Artists’ Retreat from 9 to 21 September 2023.
They are Wil-Merie Greyling (Swakopmund), Immanuel Chiete (Oranjemund), Julia Nakashwa Hango (Swakopmund), Elisia Nghidishange (Omaruru), Ismael Shivute (Windhoek), Natache Sylvia Iilonga (Windhoek), Tity Kalala Tshilumba (Windhoek), Nicky Marais (Oranjemund), Lila Swanepoel (Windhoek), all from Namibia, and Anita Sambanje from Angola, Jeannette Unite (South Africa), and Line Krom (Germany).
The resulting exhibition boasts a diverse range of artworks encompassing traditional and contemporary mediums. Sculptures on display incorporate recycled metals sourced from a nearby dump. Paintings draw inspiration from the landscape, often using pigments derived from the earth itself. Photography and collage feature archival images and document installation and site-specific works, some of which will remain at Baker’s Bay for years to come. Additionally, imaginative architectural plans explore innovative ways of inhabiting the landscape.
The Artists’ Retreat forms a crucial part of the Art Can Transform project initiated by OMDis Town Transform Agency in Oranjemund, generously sponsored and supported by the Namdeb Diamond Corporation with the support of the StArt Art Gallery.
This marks the third edition of the OMDis’ Art Can Transform project, which commenced with six artists residing and creating in the abandoned mining town of Bogenfels within the Tsau //Khaeb National Park in 2021. In 2022, the second retreat took place, featuring 13 artists at Baker’s Bay.
This annual event brings artists into an otherwise inaccessible region of Namibia, fostering collaboration and emphasising the National Park’s unique history and environment.
* The Tsau //Khaeb National Park holds profound geographical, biological, social, and historical importance.